300 AMP Service

[beav]

Hello all! It has been so long since I have posted to this forum that I have forgotten my login details.

As a former master electrician, I used to know most answers to things, but I am wiring my own house now and needing some assistance on a few things. Please understand that I have had my nose back into the 14 code book trying to catch up on all the changes. It has been 14 years since I have last wired a house.

I need to install a 300 AMP service. I am looking for any gotchas and certainly don't want to overlook anything else. Plans are to use this meter base (http://www.lowes.com/pd_232627-21747-1123982_1z0yt2o__?productId=3080861&pl=1) or similar and feed two panels. Is it better to try and find (2) 150 AMP panels or go with a 200 and a 100?

I'd be happy to hear any other suggestions that you may have concerning better ways to do this or if you see a problem with this setup.

Many thanks guys (and gals)! Glad to be back after so long. After all the different levels of work that I have done, I truly miss the smell of wood on a cool morning with a roll of romex in one hand and a hammer in the other!!!

 

[Dennis Alwon]

That meter will handle 2- 200 amp panels. We do that all the time as a 200 amp panel does not cost that much more than a 100 amp panel. 320 amps is the continuous load but it will handle 400 amps non continuous

 

[beav]

That meter will handle 2- 200 amp panels. We do that all the time as a 200 amp panel does not cost that much more than a 100 amp panel. 320 amps is the continuous load but it will handle 400 amps non continuous

Great! POCO supply's it so I hope that it will have the knoxkouts in a place to easily support my installation location.

So, I would just need to run (2) 2" runs, one to each panel? Would the GEC need to be unbroken from the rods -> to meter base -> to panel #1 -> then directly to panel #2 or would it have to come back out of panel #2 and back through the meter base to #1?

 

[Dennis Alwon]

Great! POCO supply's it so I hope that it will have the knoxkouts in a place to easily support my installation location.

So, I would just need to run (2) 2" runs, one to each panel? Would the GEC need to be unbroken from the rods -> to meter base -> to panel #1 -> then directly to panel #2 or would it have to come back out of panel #2 and back through the meter base to #1?

Check with the power company as here we connect the grounding electrode conductor in the meter base and we are done.

 

[JDB3]

Good answer Dennis. Around here I deal with 3 different utility companies, that have different requirements, even in their own different service areas. And just because you built the service one way last week, does not mean that the same requirements apply today.

One instance was when I was setting temporary construction power panels. They provided a breaker in their combination meter/panel at one location but not the other (all in the same day) !!